Don't you just hate Leviticus?

This is normal. It's not just the president that feels this way. I have seen the following list of questions on Leviticus floating around social media, and I thought, well, let's just answer these questions directly.

So that's what I'm going to do. You will be able to find my responses to the questions below in [brackets].

Remember, we hate this law. Romans 8:7 makes that quite clear. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7 KJV Translation

Here we go...

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On her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. man, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

[There are 2 reasons you cannot own Canadians. First, in our country, only the state can own slaves. So, if you want to own anyone, you are going to have to take it up with them. Second, the Canadians are from the same stock as Americans. Just a few generations ago we shared common blood. They would fall under the law of brothers, Hebrew servants. That means, according to Deuteronomy 15:12, they have to be released every 7 years. *Or he could sell himself to you through the year of Jubilee, or he could voluntarily stay with you forever. Lev 25:39-42; Deut 15:16-17]

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

[Marriage in Hebrew law is a 2 party contract between the man and the father of the bride. The man takes over guardianship of the woman and the liabilities that come with her. That is, he has to feed and clothe her. Exodus 21:10-11 makes that clear. With that in mind, you are free to charge as much as you like. Jacob agreed to work 7 years for his wife Rachel. But she may have been more valuable and better looking than your average girl. If you take the girl without asking the father, you pay 50 pieces of silver and the father can still refuse to give you his daughter. Deuteronomy 22:29 and Exodus 22:16-17.]

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

[It is the responsibility of the woman to keep herself separate during menstruation. Menstrual blood is a bio hazard. If you touch an unclean woman or her bed, you wash and are unclean till evening. *It's not sin unless you are approaching the woman to uncover her nakedness or lie with her during her period. Lev 18:19 and 20:18]

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

[No.]

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

[No. If the police, judges, or elders will not enforce the law, then you have no right to take the matter into your own hands. Your neighbor has a right to stand before the judges and plead his case.]

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

[Some abominations require capital punishment. The death penalty is not commanded for dietary laws, although the health and social effects may prove deadly.]

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

[This law applies to the Aaronic priests. Normal people do not keep the service of the altar. Glasses would pose a problem in this service.]

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

[The death penalty is not commanded for a violation of this law.]

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

[Better to use a different football. But if you do pick up a pig skin, wash your clothes, and be unclean till evening. Lev 11:25 *EDIT* Turns out, footballs are not made of pigskins.]

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

[No, the death penalty is not commanded for mixed seed or clothing. For blasphemy, yes, they are stoned. But there must be due process. Deuteronomy 17:2-4 *Also, the word "private" here is wrong.]

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan,

[*Edit* I think it was falsely attributed to]
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum,
Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia

I always find it amusing when people who obviously haven't got the first clue of Biblical exegesis try to mock Christianity by poking fun at ancient Hebrew laws and ceremonies that have been extinct since 70 AD.

Why? Because if you must believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis, then if you are in anyway consistent you should also believe in a literal interpretation of Leviticus, in which case you think it's okay with God to enslave a Canadian if you are an American.

...given to a certain people for a certain time. Christ fulfilled the law and "set the captives free," as was God's plan all along. I'm sure those who keep bringing up Leviticus have heard that many times.

Funny, though, the people who agree that the Bible is correct regarding other sins but incorrect when it comes to their own particular sin.

"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom.

That is what some of you USED TO BE! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." ! Corinthians 6:9-11

If Jesus can cancel out Leviticus I don't see why He can't cancel out the desperate need to believe that the author of Genesis was an expert historian, geologist, and scientist. It's mighty convenient to say, well, of course Leviticus doesn't apply anymore, but somehow, a 6 day creation still does.

I have respect for Christians who try to live according to the moral principles laid out by Jesus. They lose me when they try to put into the curriculum that people lived contemporaneously with dinosaurs.

I note that Biblical literalists are all about "context" when discussing Leviticus but throw context out the window when it comes to Genesis. Their self serving way of glossing over the sticky bits in the Bible is apparent to everyone but themselves.

I throw nothing out when it comes to Genesis. As I've already stated, and you've conveniently ignored, Genesis is historical narrative, and is meant to be read as such. Nothing sticky about it. Jesus created the Earth in six 24 hour days, about 6,000 years ago. It means what it says.

Why do you have so much hatred towards Jesus? That's the issue, here - not Christians themselves.

Genesis is an ahistorical narrative. Every culture has its origins myth -- the Hopi, the Navaho, the pagan pre-Christian Gauls, Goths, and Celts, the ancient Greeks, the Xhosa, etc. None of these myths is real history, although there may be bits of real history buried within the tales. And Genesis has precisely the same epistemological status. We don't even know who wrote Genesis, and yet you give that story created thousands of years ago more credence than you do to the works of thousands of geologists and biologists who are basing their work on careful observation and experiment, and who, unlike the biblical literalists, recognize that they may be wrong on certain points and correct their views when the data requires it.

So Jesus created the Earth before he was born? I hadn't heard that one before. That's usually credited by Christians to God the Father, not God the Son.

No, Genesis is historical truth – Jesus said so. I will take His word over yours or anyone else's that wasn't there. So, yes, I give more credence to the account in the book of Genesis (Moses was the author, btw, so you don't know anywhere near what you think you do about the Bible. Here's one to get you started, many more if you need them http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2011/06/28/did-mose...), since Jesus was there and you and the "thousands of geologists and biologists who are basing their work on careful observation and experiment" weren't. And not one of those "thousands" observed the creation of this planet or any other one, so that argument holds no water.

As far as your comments about who created the Earth, this is another example of you not knowing what you think you know about the Bible. Jesus, the Word of God, is the Creator. He is the same God as God the Father (there is only one God.) And the Bible is clear in both John 1 and Colossians 1 that He (Jesus) created the Earth. He wasn't called Jesus until the Incarnation, but He is the Creator.

Stick around – you'll learn all kinds of things here. Stop relying on fallible men - who weren't there - to tell you what to believe. Instead, rely on the truth of God's word.

Hey Spock, did you know that there were white indians who were actually a lost tribe of Isreal? They were actually visited in early America by Jesus and his sacrid gospil was written on gold tablets and hidden in a hole in the ground by the last white indians... just before the evil red skinned indians killed him. Fortunatly an angel told Joseph Smith to dig them up and write the book of mormon using them.

Jesus' new gospil is there for you to see, so if you aren't a mormon, clearly you hate Jesus and think that his gospil is a book of lies written by men.

Surley you're not saying that you don't believe the sacrid word of Jesus? Well im sorry Spock, but I take the word of Jesus over yours, any day... Seeing as Joseph was a prophet who was being used as a conduit for Jesus' writing hand, it is vastly more trustworthy than anything anyone else says. Esspecially science and education, which are tools of the devil, and always wrong.

Yup, from the same "God" who told us slavery is okay and then changed his mind.

Science books get updated every year because scientists, unlike religious ideologues, know that they never have a 100% full understanding of the truth, but that by careful observation and reasoning, they can get a little closer to it each year.

In the Scriptures, our Father has given us fully accurate and dependable (though not exhaustive, as is His Divine omniSCIENCE), inspired truth about the origin of the heavens, our Earth, our race, and many other things.

I am not "anti-science". Rather, I appreciate our God given ability to enjoy and benefit from it. Science is a fine gift from God…

However, we Christians must allow God's revelation to us, (the Lord Jesus Christ, the living Word, being the beginning, end, and focus of all that revelation) to be our "top dog" in every category of our thoughts and pursuits.

If the Bible and its doctrines about the Triune, sovereign Creator/Redeemer and His works is not ultimately the foundation for marriage and mathematics, biology and beer brewing, painting and preaching, writing symphonies and writing traffic tickets, doing auto mechanics and doing surgery -- or any other human endeavor -- then the one engaging in those things has some "other" ultimate foundation, i.e. some other ultimate epistemological (and religious) reference point - which is essentially idolatrous. No other gods before Him...the true God first in everything!

Again, there is no god-like entity called "Science," there are only men who should realize that however much knowledge (science) they have, they know precious little. "Cursed is the one who trusts in man", says Jeremiah the prophet.

[someone asked the question: why were we given a mind and an intellect?]

"That we might use them to the glory of God" is my general answer. To engage in believing scientific enterprises wherein the scientist starts with His word as the lamp unto his or her investigating feet, is one specific way to go about that. What great liberty God has given us to fulfill the grand purpose for our existence!

Start with the Bible and have powerful light from on high to do science. Start with the idea… that proud science need not even "inquire of the LORD", and one is already in the darkness.

And unlike science books, "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

It is notable that most people who condemn the Bible for the way the Hebrew theocracy functioned, not only lack charity in their assessment, but also take things out of context(both literary and historical contexts), and view things anachronistically. There is no comparison between the slavery of colonialism and what is regulated in the old testament, yet the connection is usually assumed by critics of the Bible. The Hebrew justice system made criminals repay service to the victims themselves rather than to society in general. Even within it's form of indentured service, the Hebrew system maintained human rights for those workers, unlike in colonialism. The Hebrew system within it's own context does not seem incompatible with the teachings of Jesus which led people like William Wilberforce to fight slavery in Britain.

Christians have always been the biggest opposition to Tyranny and evil throughout history. We know the Elite gain power through consolidation. Well, look at the Catholic church. Who do you think chose the books in the Bible? Jesus did not advocate for slavery. Look how hypocritical the religion has become. Its almost like a cult now. That would explain why the rapture is pure propaganda. Now Christians don't get involved, because the Lord will take care of it or they are waiting on the Rapture.
The truth is, your are not on this Earth to "Worship" God. You are here to do his work. By fighting evil, you are doing Gods will. You are not fighting Evil when you are saying hateful things to and about people for what they are doing. There are other more effective ways of dealing with that.
Jesus befriended everyone except the money changers. He is on the side of the people.

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Ron brought the Liberty movement together, Rand is expanding the crap out of it! :)

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